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By admin, February 25, 2010 1:57 pm

Hundreds of runners hit the trails at Annadel on Feb. 7 to raise money for the park.  The 13.1 mile race was organized by the staff of Santa Rosa’s Fleet Feet Sports to support Annadel State Park in the attempt to “thwart partial and/or full park closure.” The looping course through the western portion of the park brought in about $20,000 that will go to the park through the Valley of the Moon Natural Natural History Association, a nonprofit set up to raise funds for Sonoma County parks.

Hikers on a fundraising 5-mile hike from the start at Spring Lake to Lake Ilsanjo followed the runners, traveling by way of the recent Trails Council project on Spring Creek trail.

The organizers have posted many photos and other information on the race website.

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By admin, January 7, 2010 1:24 pm

LandPaths, the Sonoma County Ag Preservation & Open Space District, and Sonoma County Regional Parks are offering an interim Permit Program at Taylor Mountain in Santa Rosa, similar to the one in place at Willow Creek and Tolay Lake. After a one-hour orientation on the property, you will receive a free permit allowing biking, hiking and horseback riding on the 1000+ acre preserve. Contact LandPaths to make a reservation (RSVP required). Orientations will be be held on the following dates:

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By admin, January 7, 2010 1:15 pm

The Stewards’ Docent and Community Education Program will continue for 2010 and they are sponsoring the first of three State Parks Volunteer Orientations on January 9th at 9:00am at Armstrong Redwoods. The new year is a great time to learn how you can volunteer in our State Parks. Stewards manages a wide variety of education and stewardship volunteer opportunities in our parks — check the Stewards website for more information on this and other volunteer opportunities. Join the fun and make a difference!

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By admin, January 7, 2010 1:10 pm

The Sonoma Land Trust announced on Dec. 17 that  escrow closed on the stunning 5,630-acre Jenner Headlands — a nationally significant project and the single largest conservation land acquisition in Sonoma County. This $36 million purchase from willing sellers Sonoma Coast Associates, Gualala Redwoods, Inc., and Russian River Redwoods was completed due to the extraordinary efforts and collaboration of 10 public and private funding partners.  Sonoma Land Trust is now the proud steward of this incredible coastal property.

Eventually the property will include a section of the California Coastal Trail as well as other trails. While the interim public access plan is being developed, the Land Trust will begin conducting guided hikes in January 2010. From January–March, SLT will offer a hike each month along the coastal headlands. This strenuous 3.5-mile roundtrip hike will ascend more than 700 feet in elevation to a rocky hilltop within the coastal prairie portion of the Headlands. Along the way, hikers will be greeted with dazzling views of the Sonoma Coast (on clear days!). Although this route will follow old ranch roads, some sections are especially rough with uneven footing. This hike is not for inexperienced hikers — you must be in good physical condition and sturdy hiking boots with ankle support are strongly recommended.

Jenner Headlands pages for more information on hikes and the property.

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By admin, October 20, 2009 4:15 pm

Now that we have had some rain and the soil is workable we want to begin the long-awaited Spring Creek Trail project.  The site, which is about half a mile up the trail from the intersection of the Spring Creek and Canyon trails, is a wet muddy mess in the winter, and we hope to build a long-lasting repair with short sections of causeways.

This summer we hauled rock and tread mix up to the project site, so some of the heavy work has already been done.  Now we would like to get together a crew of 6 or 8 to actually build the project.   The work will consist of preparing the trail bed with McLeods and mattocks, moving rock and tread mix in wheelbarrows for a short distance (50 to 100 feet, generally downhill), placing materials (fabric, border rocks, drain rock, and tread mix), and finally compacting the surface.  We plan to begin work on Saturday, October 31.  This trail is gets a lot of use, and we don’t want to leave the project unfinished, so those who can will work on Sunday, Nov 1 as well.

If the weather doesn’t cooperate for the 31st or 1st, we’ll try again the following weekend, Nov. 7th and/or 8th.

Leader for this project is Tim Mayer. Please contact Tim directly to sign up for either (or both) days.